32 l July 2014
www.psneurope.com
broadcast
THE OVERLAY CONTRACT Crawley, West Sussex-based Sports Technology is well placed to provide audio requirements, having recently returned from supplying similar facilities for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. It also provided audio and non-broadcast services at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
“The Olympics was a
massive undertaking involving something like 1,275 amplifiers, 3,200 speakers, 230 production mixing consoles and hundreds of microphones,” comments Damian Rowe, director of Sports Technology. “The Commonwealth Games may be slightly smaller in scale, but the demands are enormous nonetheless. Our job is to provide the entire audio and video overlay – that is, all the non-broadcast facilities for stadia, other venues and facilities such as press conferences.” Sports Technology is jointly owned by Rowe, Creative Technology and Delta Sound. As part of the Avesco group, which includes Creative Technology and Dimension Audio, Rowe and Sports Technology can readily call upon additional resources – and another Avesco company, Presteigne Broadcast Hire, is on hand to provide its RF expertise.
“There are more than 20 venues in all, and we carried out an assessment of each,” explains Sports Technology’s project director, Mike Chesterton. “In order to do that, we needed to be told the location of spectator seating, the number of people expected and other relevant factors. In a very few cases, the existing legacy systems can be used, but generally we plan on installing specialist systems to meet the specifications laid down by the games’ organising committee. Sports Technology utilised the EASE (Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers) software suite to provide the calculations that determine the type and location of speakers and amplifiers. “This program provides a set of tools that enabled us to produce detailed, realistic 3D modelling for each of the venues,” explains Chesterton. “That means we can create an audio system that meets all the requirements for each location. It shows what levels and performance are achievable with
LOOKING AT THE FIGURES
At Glasgow 2014, SVGTV will be using… 41 Glensound GDC 6432 digital commentary units
157 Audio-Technica BPHS1 headsets
28 Riedel Artist 64 frames 119 Riedel Artist AES-108 cards
23 Riedel Artist CAT-108 cards
Eight Riedel Artist coax cards 51 Riedel C3 beltpacks 144 Riedel FBI units Over 100 Riedel Artist intercom and expansion panels
50 Riedel Artist headsets Three NTP Penta 725 digital routers
Four NTP Penta 720 HD-SDI embedder/de-embedder frames
Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, says the Commonwealth Games will showcase the “best of Scotland”
One NTP 625 1024 x 1024 digital router
but for the most part they are happy to accept our guidance about the systems.”
EQUIPMENT CHOICE Based on its past experience, Sports Technology is utilising equipment from d&b audiotechnik, supplied by Dimension Audio.
Amplifiers will be a mix of D6, D12 and D80, with Yamaha LS9-16 and LS9-32s serving as mixers. In all, a total of 280 amplifiers and 920 speakers are to be deployed.
The Host Broadcaster Training initiative will provide TV training for Scotland’s students in the run up to and during the Games
what kind of speaker – the angle at which the speaker must be fitted and the general dispersion of each one. We can play with this model until we have arrived at the specification required by VTS for each location. In short, it provides for an evaluation before the work of installing begins. And, of course, it reduces the installation time.” Chesterton points out that venue requirements often
change, but that having the 3D model in place means an upgrade is easily carried out. Some venues will host different sports, so alterations to seating arrangements or the area of field of play have to be taken into account. The drawings also provide the STI for each venue. Once the 3D model is complete, a line drawing showing cable runs and the location of mixing desks,
speakers and amplifiers is produced. These detailed schematics are also produced for smaller events such as press conferences. Overlay drawings can be utilised to determine any changes that may be envisaged. “We then provide the organising committee with a detailed summary of the equipment we envisage at each site,” Chesterton adds. “The committee may suggest changes,
“We will be bringing along backup spares,” emphasises Chesterton. “If there are any difficulties, we will be able to resolve matters very quickly.” Installation began during the first week of July with systems for the athletes’ village and press conferences. Everything will be in place in time for rehearsals, which begin three days ahead of the opening ceremony. Sports Technology will be providing around 80 technicians for the games, while Dimension Audio will bring another 15.
BROADCASTING TO THE COMMONWEALTH In December 2011, the host broadcaster (HB) contract for Glasgow 2014 was awarded to a joint bid from independent British sports production company Sunset+Vine (S+V) and Australian outsourced TV production services specialist Global Television.
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